... not to vote for the "hair guys" (that would be Kerry and Edwards, of course)... Drudge came up with the final straw, so to speak.

Click here and get ready to retch.

oy vey ...

iTunes is currently playing: BEHIND THE MASK from the album FAKER HOLIC / Disc2 by Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Dan has got me reading Ann Althouse's blog every day. In a recent post she said, "Slate's "Election Scorecard" map shows Wisconsin in solid red now." which reminded me how I can never remember which party is red and which is blue (or which is the donkey and which is the elephant).

I have trouble remembering how to pronounce certain words, too. I lived in L.A. for about 15 years before I could say "La Cienega" without sounding it out in my head first. That probably explains why it doesn't bother me when President Bush mispronounces "nuclear". His people can correct him until they are blue in the face but it just doesn't take with people like us.

I think these little ... quirks ... make us more interesting... don't you?

iTunes is currently playing: One Of The Things I Do So Well from the album Life Is Good by Livingston Taylor.

The October issue of Wired has an interview with Rashad Mandan Omar, Iraq's Minister of Science and Technology in which he says:

Before the collapse of the regime, average monthly salaries were $10 to $15. Now, in less than a year, the average salary is 10 times that, and inflation is down. Previously, no Iraqi was allowed to have a cell phone or an Internet connection. But now there are no restrictions, and our markets are full of computers and electrical appliances.

Assuming he is not making this stuff up and that many Iraqis are considerably better off financially since we showed up on the scene, why do we not hear this sort of thing from the media? To read the news, you would think that no good has come from our presence, wouldn't you.

iTunes is currently playing: Life During Wartime from the album Fear Of Music by Talking Heads.

Yesterday I read about this cool website called "Opening Hooks: A Collection of Literary Beginnings". As of this moment it lists over 700 opening sentences/paragraphs from books. (Most, but not all, are fiction.) You can rate them and add openings of your own. Instead of working on Spearit Software business, I spent hours perusing this web site. I love dynamite opening passages and I was in pig heaven.

The most interesting thing about this experience, however, was that I came across a book written by someone I know that I didn't know had written a book. I had heard of the book ("The Contortionist's Handbook") but had no idea who wrote it. Turns out the author is Craig Clevenger, a guy I went to school with at Cal State Long Beach. I don't know if he would remember me (I never expect anyone to remember me and am always surprised when someone does) but I remember him. I didn't know him very well, but he was a good writer and a nice guy and I am really happy for him.

(His book, by the way, has a great opening sentence: “I can count my overdoses on one hand.") You can read a tantalizing excerpt from the book here.

iTunes is currently playing: I Can Do That from the album A Chorus Line by Wayne Cilento. ("I got to class and had it made and so I stayed the rest of my life ... ")

A few minutes ago I looked up from my computer to see a police officer coming up the walk toward our front door. I ran downstairs to find out who was injured or dead (the main reason cops make house calls) but he was there to find out if we had vaccinated and registered our dog.

We don't have a dog.

My heart is still pounding.

iTunes is currently playing: While My Heart Is Still Beating from the album Heart Still Beating by Roxy Music.

This ten CD boxed set "Billie Holiday: Portrait" (German Import) includes 170 or so recordings from the 30s and 40s plus a 40 page bio booklet for the amazing price of $26.69 plus $2.49 media rate shipping. I ordered my set from HTF Imports through Amazon Marketplace and it arrived nine days later.



What a voice. Highly recommended!

iTunes is currently playing: Solitude from the CD set Billie Holiday: Portrait .

I came across this car as I walked through the parking lot at the Corning Glass Museum. I can't imagine why the owner attached this complicated antenna to his roof. Ideas, anyone?



iTunes is currently playing: Driving from the album The Language Of Life by Everything But The Girl.

My last post includes a picture of my new digital video camcamcorder, posed next to my iPod so you can see how tiny it is. Here is another shot of the 4100 in action.



You can get it for under $100 at Sam's Club. Very small, very light, can also be used as a still digital camera, a web cam, and a voice recorder. The videos are not professional quality, but they are not bad at all.

Don't have money for an expensive digital camcorder? Or do you have one that you don't carry around because it is too heavy/bulky or you are afraid you will lose/break it? Want to give your kid a real video camera that is priced like a toy? Check out the Aiptek 4100M. I love mine!!

It's about 2/3 the size of my iPod (and 1/3 the price). For details, see my next post.



(Yes, I admit it. I am a major gadget freak!)

I can't believe it has been over two months since I posted here. For me, writing is like exercising. I either do it every day or I end up going months (or longer!) without doing anything at all. I'm pathetic, I know.

So today is Labor Day. To me, that means the Jerry Lewis telethon. I never cared much for his movies (slapstick is just not my thing) but the man is a saint as far as I am concerned because of the work he does to fight muscular dystrophy.

This year the show was dedicated to Mattie Stepanek who lost his battle with that wretched disease in June. Unfortunately, this was the first year that the telethon failed to raise a dollar more than the year before. It didn't help that large portions of Florida are under water or without electricity this weekend due to Hurricane Frances. But whatever the reason, I am feeling very sad tonight that we didn't come through for Jerry.

If you want to do something that will make you feel good about yourself, why not surf over to the MDA web site and donate a few bucks in Mattie's memory.

iTunes is currently playing: The Meaning of the Blues from the album Miles Ahead by Miles Davis.